‘Left Behind’ Co-Creator Tim LaHaye Passes at 90

Pastor, evangelical leader and best-selling author Tim LaHaye died July 25, 2016 in a San Diego area hospital, just days after suffering a stroke. He was 90 years old.

Christian fiction readers likely know him best as the co-writer of the blockbuster “Left Behind” series, co-authored with Jerry B. Jenkins. The popular books launched a veritable industry unto itself, including novels, kids books, DVDs, a videogame, a soundtrack album and comic books.

“The Tim LaHaye I got to know had a pastor’s heart and lived to share his faith,” Jenkins says. “He listened to and cared about everyone, regardless of age, gender, or social standing. If Tim was missing from the autograph table or the green room of a network television show, he was likely in a corner praying with someone he’d just met—from a reader to a part-time bookstore stock clerk to a TV network anchorman.”

Dr. LaHaye wrote or co-wrote more than 60 books—most of them nonfiction titles—with more than 14 million copies in print in more than 30 languages. Topics he explored included family life, temperaments, the biblical view of sex and marriage, Bible prophecy and secular humanism.

However, the Left Behind brand became a phenomenon, credited as the all-time best-selling Christian fiction series. The apocalyptic thrillers speculate how certain prophecies in the Bible might play out if millions of Christian were to suddenly disappear.

In a 1998 profile, LaHaye told People magazine that the idea for the original novel came to him while he was sitting on an airplane watching the pilots. “I’d think to myself, ‘What if the Rapture occurred on an airplane?’”

It took him three years to find a co-writer, when a literary agent introduced him to the prolific Jenkins, who at that time had already written more than 100 books. For their collaboration, LaHaye sent outlines to his co-writer, who then fleshed them out into a novel.

Launching in 1995 with Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days, the series went on to break publishing records. There were 16 volumes in the core series, with 80 million copies in print. The books appeared on the best-seller lists of The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and Christian Booksellers Association.

Said Mark D. Taylor, chairman and CEO of Tyndale House Publishers, “Tim LaHaye’s history as a published author is intertwined with the entire history of Tyndale House. His first book, Spirit-Controlled Temperament, was published 50 years ago in 1966. It was the very first book published by Tyndale House apart from the Living series of Bible paraphrases. And Tyndale’s highest-selling series of trade titles has been the Left Behind series, coauthored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Tim was a wonderful Bible teacher and pastor and an inspiration for our entire industry. We will miss him.”

About The Author

Dr. Tim LaHaye has written more than 50 non-fiction books and co-authored more than 25 fiction books, many translated into 34 languages. Jerry B. Jenkins is the author of more than 175 books. LaHaye's and Jenkins' blockbuster Left Behind series has appeared on the best-seller lists of the Christian Booksellers Association, Publishers Weekly,USA Today and the New York Times.